- Joined
- Mar 24, 2005
- Location
- Stanley, NC
Care to elaborate on this?The one that failed was the fist one I had built and failed due to my own lack of skill and knowledge.
Care to elaborate on this?The one that failed was the fist one I had built and failed due to my own lack of skill and knowledge.
Yup. I can admit when my lack of engineering and/or fab skills cause(d) an issue.Care to elaborate on this?
Just wanted to make sure it wasn't the link . I just put @strange1 's freshly threaded toob in the mail this afternoonYup. I can admit when my lack of engineering and/or fab skills cause(d) an issue.
On my old MJ, I had built a typical crossmember out of 2x4x1/2" from rail to rail. Held in place with a boad load of fasteners. To get my upper link angle where I wanted, I built a tower vertically on top of the crossmember, welded and with a gusset coming off the rear of it. The gusset went from tower to crossmember. Make sense?
On a 8' near vertical drop at the Windrock ECORS race, I pogo'ed the front axle. The force pushed the link back and ripped the tower off the crossmember. Welds held fine. Just not adequate additional bracing.
It took out the shocks, tranny lines, bellhousing, exhaust, oil pan, pinion yoke literally went into the crank. Driveshaft was bent, etc.
I actually held the starter into the flywheel in order to drive it back to the trailer.
Was definitely a fiasco.
Just wanted to make sure it wasn't the link . I just put @strange1 's freshly threaded toob in the mail this afternoon
Yup. I can admit when my lack of engineering and/or fab skills cause(d) an issue.
On my old MJ, I had built a typical crossmember out of 2x4x1/2" from rail to rail. Held in place with a boad load of fasteners. To get my upper link angle where I wanted, I built a tower vertically on top of the crossmember, welded and with a gusset coming off the rear of it. The gusset went from tower to crossmember. Make sense?
On a 8' near vertical drop at the Windrock ECORS race, I pogo'ed the front axle. The force pushed the link back and ripped the tower off the crossmember. Welds held fine. Just not adequate additional bracing.
It took out the shocks, tranny lines, bellhousing, exhaust, oil pan, pinion yoke literally went into the crank. Driveshaft was bent, etc.
I actually held the starter into the flywheel in order to drive it back to the trailer.
Was definitely a fiasco.
To be fair no suspension is safe from damage with that sort of force. Unless it was tied into a full tube chassis where the upper link bracket is directly supported behind the joint. No?Yup. I can admit when my lack of engineering and/or fab skills cause(d) an issue.
On my old MJ, I had built a typical crossmember out of 2x4x1/2" from rail to rail. Held in place with a boad load of fasteners. To get my upper link angle where I wanted, I built a tower vertically on top of the crossmember, welded and with a gusset coming off the rear of it. The gusset went from tower to crossmember. Make sense?
On a 8' near vertical drop at the Windrock ECORS race, I pogo'ed the front axle. The force pushed the link back and ripped the tower off the crossmember. Welds held fine. Just not adequate additional bracing.
It took out the shocks, tranny lines, bellhousing, exhaust, oil pan, pinion yoke literally went into the crank. Driveshaft was bent, etc.
I actually held the starter into the flywheel in order to drive it back to the trailer.
Was definitely a fiasco.
To be fair to Jody's engineering and welding ability.Yup. I can admit when my lack of engineering and/or fab skills cause(d) an issue.
On my old MJ, I had built a typical crossmember out of 2x4x1/2" from rail to rail. Held in place with a boad load of fasteners. To get my upper link angle where I wanted, I built a tower vertically on top of the crossmember, welded and with a gusset coming off the rear of it. The gusset went from tower to crossmember. Make sense?
On a 8' near vertical drop at the Windrock ECORS race, I pogo'ed the front axle. The force pushed the link back and ripped the tower off the crossmember. Welds held fine. Just not adequate additional bracing.
It took out the shocks, tranny lines, bellhousing, exhaust, oil pan, pinion yoke literally went into the crank. Driveshaft was bent, etc.
I actually held the starter into the flywheel in order to drive it back to the trailer.
Was definitely a fiasco.
For every 3 link that failed, there’s 10X that amount that have never given an issue. Make good practice of checking the welds at all link mounts before/after a wheeling trip. 9/10 you’ll notice a cracked weld or frame starting to rip before it becomes a major failure with regular inspections.
Here's how mine was builtShould I be concerned with running this style bracket on a crossmember?
The cross member is bolted and welded on one side with brackets that sandwich the uni body and the other side is bolted with the same sandwich bracket. The three link is on the welded side. View attachment 344383View attachment 344384
Support that with a massive chock like it owes you money. I plopped a 0.5 inch thick plate behind mine. I would be very surprised to see this fail unless I went full retard status.Should I be concerned with running this style bracket on a crossmember?
The cross member is bolted and welded on one side with brackets that sandwich the uni body and the other side is bolted with the same sandwich bracket. The three link is on the welded side. View attachment 344383View attachment 344384
Thanks man, that's really kind of you to offer. We have four kids under the age of ten, so that's not really the sort of thing we do nowadays. I really appreciate the invite, though.@shawn on behalf of myself and several others in this thread I'd like to cordially invite you on a wheeling trip. What's your availability for May? Specifically, May 13-16? Location will be the Good Evening Ranch. We'd like to see all this knowledge in practical application.
Even better, the majority of us have kids the same age and they love getting to hang out and playing together. Honestly, they probably like getting out of the rigs and playing in the woods more than riding. Couldn't be more tailor-made.Thanks man, that's really kind of you to offer. We have four kids under the age of ten, so that's not really the sort of thing we do nowadays. I really appreciate the invite, though.
Support that with a massive chock like it owes you money. I plopped a 0.5 inch thick plate behind mine. I would be very surprised to see this fail unless I went full retard status.
View attachment 344394
Even better, the majority of us have kids the same age and they love getting to hang out and playing together. Honestly, they probably like getting out of the rigs and playing in the woods more than riding. Couldn't be more tailor-made.
It’s a pretty close comparison. I certainly have not finished that crossmember. The transmission crossmember will soon be tied into the rear 4 link crossmember with a skid plate system so really my failure point is the 5/8” diameter grade 8 fastener or the link bracket on the Dana 60 if I had to take a guess.from what I understand, the concern you should have is the upper link ripping the entire crossmember loose from the frame. There is a ton of forward and backward twisting forces that the upper link is trying to control, and your frame to crossmember junction appears smaller than your link-bracket to crossmember.
It’s a pretty close comparison. I certainly have not finished that crossmember. The transmission crossmember will SOON be tied into the rear 4 link crossmember with a skid plate system so really my failure point is the 5/8” diameter grade 8 fastener or the link bracket on the Dana 60 if I had to take a guess.
Our kids don't really like sitting in traffic behind a bunch of rigs with broken suspensions....Even better, the majority of us have kids the same age and they love getting to hang out and playing together. Honestly, they probably like getting out of the rigs and playing in the woods more than riding. Couldn't be more tailor-made.
Y’all have anything constructive to add? I bet Chris has a pile of dirt in his shop you guys can all sweep if you want to have funSo is that "soon" for a normal person or for you? Cause when I read soon, I think a couple days but I believe you mean a couple years?
I mean I did sweep the floors tonight. But that was after actually working on somethingY’all have anything constructive to add? I bet Chris has a pile of dirt in his shop you guys can all sweep if you want to have fun
His shop is pretty damn nasty considering all the rigs getting knocked out. By that standard, I bet you could eat off the floors in yoursY’all have anything constructive to add? I bet Chris has a pile of dirt in his shop you guys can all sweep if you want to have fun